The Gifted Class of Blackthorn Middle School
by LightsPast
Summary: MINOR RECONSTRUCTION. Bet you though Meadowbrook was the only school with gifted kids! Well at Blackthorn middle school there are nine gifted kids. Nine teenagers. Nine secrets. Nine powers that can change the world. Please read! Not actually based on real series, I just used some characters names like madame, serena etc. Okay, Chapter eleven is out!
1. Chapter 1 Nine

**Hey, everyone reading this! I'm really excited, this is my first ever fanfiction!** **I hope you enjoy reading it, and please review if you think it's good! **

**(New A/N) This story is currently undergoing . . . renovations, shall we say.**

-Lexie-

Lexie skipped down the hallways of Blackthorn Middle School, humming along to her constantly charged IPod. After five weeks, her class mates were used to her startling appearance and hardly anyone was staring. Not that Lexie had even noticed them staring in the first place. Bright blonde hair in two high ponytails swinging back and forth, scarlet lips curved into a smile, crackling gold eyes. She was wearing a white, collared sleeveless shirt, black tie, black denim shorts, red suspenders and red and black platform boots; she was extraordinarily beautiful and slightly odd.

But Lexie didn't care what all these stupid ordinary kids thought about her. She was Gifted and they weren't. And that was that. Unusual was the best.

A beautiful smile bloomed on her face as she turned the corner. She had sat through a whole day of dumb ordinary classes, and now it was finally time for the only reason she actually attended this lame school. Gifted class.

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-Lola-Mai-

Lola-Mai, a tiny doll-like Japanese-American girl, slumped in her seat. She brushed the crumples from her frilly pink baby doll dress and adjusted the ribbons on her pigtails with a sigh. Lola pulled a strawberry lollipop from her bag and sucked on it glumly. All day putting up with everyone else's emotions, she felt like she had none of her own. It was almost like she was dead, an emotionless zombie. She hated knowing what everyone was feeling. Trying to ignore it, counter it with an opposite feeling, none of it ever seemed to work. All her life, as far as she could remember, she had had her gift. And it had done her absolutely no good what so ever.

She saw people's emotions as a colourful dancing aura around them, felt what they were feeling, sometimes so strongly she couldn't tell if it was her own emotion or not.

And speaking of overly strong emotions. . . Someone Lola-Mai despised had just skipped _way_ too happily into the room. Alexei "Call me Lexie!" Bayden. The girl who was too happy.

Without even checking to see if anyone else was in the room, Lexie let out a sigh of relief, and then released the constraints on her gift. Electricity thundered through the room, flooding from every pore of her body, lighting up like, well, lightning. She sapped all of the excess electricity from her body, until only static was left dancing on her fingertips.

Lola coughed loudly. "Oh, hey!" Lexie beamed way too brightly. Her zippy golden aura was so powerful Lola-Mai felt sick.

"Would you mind _not _sparking all over the classroom?" Lola glared, focusing on negative emotions, trying to prevent herself from feeling Lexie's happiness. _Anger, hatred, depression, boredom, sorrow_, she chanted over and over in her head. Don't be influenced. Ever.

"Sorry!" Lexie giggled. She sat in the seat next to Lola. "So how are you?! I am so excited about this lesson! Normal classes are just so _boring_ aren't they?! Did you do the assignment, it's due today, I almost forgot! Anyway I thought" . . . She never even seemed to stop for breath.

Lola dropped her head onto the desk and groaned quietly.

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-Tristan-

Tristan slouched towards his next class reluctantly. His beat up two-sizes-too-small shoes dragged across the floor as if they had lead weights stuck to their peeling soles. The kids around him gave him a slight berth, leaving an empty space around him. He felt like he was Moses, parting the sea. But unlike that story, this wasn't an unusual occurrence. Slim and slight, with scruffy black hair, shadowed blue-black eyes, pale as parchment that had never seen the sun's light, quiet, odd Tristan Mortem, the bruised boy with patched jeans, wasn't exactly popular. He was often avoided and ignored, but he didn't really care. He had more important things on his mind.

He shuffled along, his back hunched as if under the weight of some great pain, everyone else's pain, studying the world from underneath his long bangs. And he wasn't happy with what he saw. So much hurt, so much suffering. And it could all disappear. He could make it disappear. This was Tristan's gift. He was a healer, and he wanted to heal the world.

Just then a voice broke him out of his bleak thoughts. "Hi, Tristan! What's up?" A peppy brunette in a cheerleaders' uniform smiled at him. "I just wanted to say thanks again for the other day! You're the best! 'Kay bye now!" And she ran off.

Tristan blinked a few times, and then remembered who she was. Phoebe Aryan, a very popular girl. Someone who he had talked to for the first time yesterday. A girl who knew about his gift. He had found her in the park with a broken arm, apparently from a cheerleading routine practise gone wrong. He had hated to see how much pain she was in. All it had taken was a touch, a few seconds, and she was fine. But then he had to tell her everything.

Tristan stared regretfully at her rapidly vanishing form. He had had no choice. If he was to heal the world, he would have to tell a few people about his gift. He just hoped no one found out. He made himself a mental reminder to avoid Verity Siren.

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-Alice-

Alice watched Tristan watching Phoebe, consumed with jealously. What had she said to him? Why she even talking to him? Did he _like_ her? She felt sick. No, it was okay. For reassurance, she reached out and lightly brushed her slender fingers against the back of the boy in front of hers head. He didn't even notice as extracted a copy of one of his memories. Alice was filled with the sights and sounds of New York in the morning.

Eighteen months ago Alice Carthy had fallen down a flight of stairs and woken up in hospital with permanent partial amnesia. Among the memories she lost were the ones about her personality, friends, her likes and dislikes, her family. Her sense of identity was gone and she craved knowledge of her past self, craved it so strongly that she gained the ability to steal copies of other peoples' memories, and make them her own. Since she had no memories of herself, she took others' and tried to see who she was. But all it did was depress her. She couldn't even choose what memories she got.

Pulling herself back to the present, she pushed her plain dark brown hair off her face and tentatively speeded up to walk next to the object of her affections.

"Hello, Tristan," she said quietly. All she wanted was for him to like her. No one liked Alice since the accident. She was shy and quiet, she cried a lot. She couldn't stand her old friends, after she found memories of them gossiping about her behind her back. She was just another Gifted loner freak.

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-Jamie-

Sinking low in his seat, Jamie Night replayed yesterday's basketball game in his head in satisfaction. That winning basket of his - amazing. His slam dunks were legendary. He held the Blackthorn record for most during a single game. So what if he used his gift to help him out? It wasn't cheating. It was being resourceful. Whatever resourceful meant. He was still the best player on the team, and a popular, awesome guy. And with his blonde hair and bright green eyes, he reckoned he was pretty good looking as well, no matter how short he was. Carmin would have teased him for saying that he thought sadly. Then he shook his head. What was wrong with him? Why was thinking about Carmin again? Well, she _was_ the reason he got his gift. . . He wondered if she would be proud or ashamed to see him using to cheat at basketball.

He shook his head again. _STOP THINKING ABOUT HER_ he yelled inside his head.

Lexie giggled. "Why do you keep shaking your head like a dog?" She pulled a face at him and laughed again.

He scowled. Stupid Lexie. He had hated her ever since her first day at school when she shocked him. It had really hurt. She had hated him ever since her first day at school when he threw his basketball at her head to get back at her. And since he was hovering above her at the time, she hadn't even seen it coming.

Stupid Lexie, the girl who was struck by lightning. It happened when she was nine, the same age as Carmin and him when Carmin was. . . NO! He resisted the urge to shake his head a third time and focused on directing a death stare at Lexie, who was now building something on her desk with the various pieces of metal and wires that she kept in her pockets. It was her favourite hobby. Once she built them, she sparked them and they ran on her power. He actually thought it was pretty cool, but he would never admit it to her. He decided to change the subject.

"Did you see me yesterday?" He bragged, "I totally won that game for the team, I got player of the match again, coach says that we're definitely going to win every game this season because of me, and-"

Tristan, Alice and Tom walked in. "Oh shut up Jamie," said Lexie.

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-Verity-

Verity Siren smoothed back her short white blonde hair and applied another coat of mascara to the thick lashes framing her icy grey eyes. Stepping back to admire her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she nodded in satisfaction. She loved her new purple skinny jeans. They perfectly showed off her slender figure, and looked amazing with her violet ankle boots, the ones with the platform soles that made her already tall figure stand half a head above everyone else in the room. Tucking her cosmetics bag back into her silver shoulder bag, she reluctantly set off towards the Gifted classroom. But as much as she hated the gifted class, she knew deep down that she needed it. There was no way she would ever admit it to anyone, but her gift scared her a little bit. Lost in thought, she almost bumped into some kid.

"Out of my way!" She barked. The loser immediately scurried away with stuttered apologies. Sometimes, though, she loved her gift. She loved the _power_.

"Hey Verity, I like your jeans," A younger girl whose name Verity couldn't be bothered remembering said nervously. Hearing the ring of truth in her statement, Verity favoured her with an almost smile. The girl was about to say something else when Verity hissed "You'd better not go out and buy yourself a pair though, or you'll regret it." The girl ran off. Verity smiled coldly, eyes like chips of ice. That girl would never buy a pair of these jeans, that was for sure. And not just because she was scared of the consequences.

Verity felt as royal as her purple cardigan. She loved this intoxicating feeling of using her gift.

"Great to see you again, Verity!" A cluster of girls outside the next room greeted her. This time the voices practically dripped with insincerity. They were lying. Well she'd teach them a lesson.

"Oh, Victoria, are you really sure that outfit matches?" She said with an innocent expression. "And Emma, if I were you I would lay off the carbs for a few weeks. No wait, make that months. Hannah, you've got a massive pimple coming up on your chin, and it isn't the only one. Also, Gracie? You seriously call that tragedy a manicure? Have a lovely day!" She swept off as Victoria looked down at her clothes, wailing in horror, Emma pinched the skin around her waist worriedly, Hannah was asking her friends desperately if they knew a good skincare brand and Gracie was examining her nails with a horrified expression.

Verity was queen. Whatever she said, they believed it. And they couldn't lie to her. Not ever. She walked into the gifted class with a smirk. Verity ruled.

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-Tom -

Tom was consumed in his daydreams again, absent-mindedly folding an origami crane. He imagined a phoenix in flight, battling a mighty green dragon in the sky. Snowy mountaintops or an empty field, he wondered. An empty field, he decided. He smelt the grass, felt the air, unconsciously causing green to bloom beneath his feet, and shadowy butterflies to flutter around his head.

"Tom, you're doing it again," muttered his best friend Zack, who suddenly appeared beside him.

Tom quickly erased the image in his mind, causing the grass and butterflies to disappear. He was lucky that this was the gifted class, not a normal one. Sometimes his daydreams and fantasies just felt so real that they became real for a while. This was his gift. Well, part of it.

He turned to thank Zack, but his tall, skinny friend had vanished again. Off wreaking havoc again, no doubt. Tom brushed back his messy black hair and smiled. He liked being friends with Zack. They had lots of fun, and it drew him out of his dreams and into the real world. His parents were always sighing over their dreamy son. But they didn't understand his gift.

Lifting the finished crane into the air, he blew onto it gently. Golden air drifted over the paper bird and it fluttered up into the air. Flapping its wings, it soared through the room. Tom followed it intently with his hazel eyes, until the spark of life inside it began to fade. Then it drifted to the ground, silently inanimate once more.

This was the other part of Tom's powers. The ability to temporarily bring life to inanimate objects.

He cupped his hands together and filled them with cool water and lots of tiny goldfish, and he watched them swimming patiently around, with his pretty, dreamy smile.

But the fish faded away as his mind became consumed once more in a dream.

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-Zack-

Zack blinked and the gifted classroom became the empty teachers lounge. He grinned. Right in one go. He was getting better at controlling his gift. His dark green eyes flashed mischievously as he crept towards the fridge. He pulled it open and found exactly what he was looking for. His maths teacher Miss Berry's slice of cake. Stifling giggles, he took a large chunk and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he put a toy mouse next to it, as though it had eaten the cake. Miss Berry was terrified of mice. He couldn't wait til she opened the fridge this afternoon. She would freak out!

Spraying crumbs everywhere as he laughed, he decided to get out of there. Squinching his eyes closed tightly, he concentrated on the tree outside the gifted classroom, praying he wouldn't end up in the branches like he did last time. His figure became hazy, then vanished. Half a second later he was on the roof next to the tree. He swore quietly. Closing his eyes again he reappeared a few metres north of his original goal.

Good enough. He went over to the tree and sat down, then felt silent tears on his face. He missed his parents.

Now he only used his gift for playing pranks and having fun. But he couldn't help thinking about how he got it in the first place. His parents hadn't ever had time for him, and Zack had practically grown up on the streets. After a while he became a thief. He had loved grabbing an item, then casually strolling out of the doors with it under his jumper. It was . . . addictive. The heady sense of immortality, invincibility. Then one day. The police grabbed him. Terrified, he had wished harder than he ever had before, wished he was at home, safe. And then he was. But instead of learning his lesson, he got worse. He was now truly invincible, he told himself. Zack was wild, unstoppable. Then, his parents died in a plane crash and he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. There he learnt about kindness. About love.

He never stole again. He became a relatively happy kid. But even though he had hardly even known his mum and dad, he felt their absence as a sharp pain inside him, a deep sorrow. He masked it with smiles and jokes, games and pranks.

Drying his eyes, pasting a smile back on his face, Zack Rink teleported into the gifted class room, and began telling Tom all about his latest prank, pushing his sadness from his mind. But it would never really go away.

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-Joy-

Joy Dove scowled. She was having a really bad day. She had got into heaps of trouble in Science for not having her homework. And what was she supposed to say? 'Sorry, I can't hand in my homework because I accidentally liquefied it and it soaked into the grass'. Yeah right! Then they'd just call her crazy and a liar. Her stupid gift caused her so much trouble! Yesterday she turned her sandwich into dirt, the day before her pen became steam and her eraser was ice. She had hardly any control. No, scratch that, she had no control at all! She had to be careful every time she touched something.

Slamming her locker closed, she stormed off towards her next class. The Gifted class. She really hated it; all she wanted was to be ordinary. Was that too much to ask?! Actually, she reflected glumly, it probably was.

Stomping down the hall, she heard giggling, obviously directed at her, and a snide comment in a stage whisper. "What a psychopath! That girl has serious issues!" All her stupid friends giggled. Joy spun around and glared at Phoebe Aryan.

"Shut up!" She yelled, wishing she was allowed to reveal her gift. Then she would turn that stupid cheerleader to stone, starting with the empty space where a heart should be, and slowly paralysing her until she couldn't breathe, a living statue. She stormed off. "And I'm not a psychopath," she muttered under her breath, "I'm a psychokinetic!"

She strode furiously into the Gifted classroom and flung herself down into the last empty chair, glowering, just as their teacher walked in.

"Good afternoon everyone," said the petite, dark haired lady.

"Good afternoon Madame," they replied.

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	2. Chapter 2 Joyless

**Hey! Thanks to SasaRea, my first ever reviewer! ****Also thanks to FurtureAuthor for your review as well! **

**Anyway, here is chapter two and I know Joy has serious anger management problems, Tristan, Alice and Lola are constantly depressed, Lexie is weirdly happy, no one knows who Carmin is, Tom is childish, Zack is obsessed with pranks and Verity has lame insults. **

**But I needed anger to counteract the depressed trio, Lexie was the first character I created, Carmin is a mystery, Tom lives in his imagination so he's a bit strange, I needed a troublemaker and the insults don't need to be good anyway, they all believe her because of her gift. **

**So anyway, read on! **

-Joy-

Joy slouched in her chair, glaring at the floor. She hated gifted class. She hated her gift. She would do anything to get rid of her gift. _Anything. _Maybe she really should go see Sere-

"Joy!"

She looked up and realised her desk was turning into a massive fireball. Concentrating hard, she turned it back to what it was supposed to be.

"Joy, you know you're supposed to be learning to control your gift" scolded Madame. "Remember, in this class you have the least control over your gift!"

"Sorry, Madame." Joy muttered, scowling. Why couldn't Madame just give her a break for once? She's always singling me out, Joy thought angrily. But Madame never even noticed how bad she made Joy feel. All the other students made fun of her for her lack of control over not just her gift, but her temper too. "I can't help it! It's like my gift has a mind of its own, I-"

"This is exactly what I mean!" Madame interrupted. "Most of the students in my other class have realised by now how to control their gifts because they have figured out how they gained them, and so what motivates them. This is what you need to do!"

"Do teach another class?" asked Lexie curiously.

"She's already talked about them before." Jamie smirked at Lexie.

"I've only been in this class for a week idiot," she shot back. 'Anyway, is it true Madame?"

Madame nodded. "Oooooh! Can we meet them? What are they like? What kind of gifts do they have?" Lexie squealed enthusiastically.

Madame frowned. "Calm down Lexie. You are not going to meet them at this time." Lexie wilted in disappointment. "But I can tell you that they have lately been facing many dangers. You need to be careful about revealing your gift to anyone. There are some very dangerous people after my other students, and they might find out about you! You must be on the lookout for a woman called Sere- Lola-Mai! Are you listening to me?"

Lola looked up sullenly. "I'm _trying_ to concentrate! It's stupid Lexie's fault, she keeps distracting me!"

Lexie started to protest, pulling a face, but Madame cut her off. "Enough! I'm afraid this class is rather lacking in discipline. We are now returning to our class topic, motivations. Who wants to tell the class about the root of their Gift?" She looked around the class but no one raised their hand.

Joy scowled. Didn't Madame realise what a waste of time this was? It didn't matter how they _got_ their 'Gifts', it was how to get rid of them that interested the brunette.

"No one?" Madame sounded disappointed. "Alright, how about . . .Jamie?"

Jamie stood reluctantly. "Well, when I was five, I was checking out this construction site near my home . . . and I fell down a hole and couldn't get out," he mumbled. Lexie snorted with laughter. He shot her a venomous look. "Anyway, yeah, I couldn't climb out and I got bored waiting so I just kinda floated out, I guess. That's pretty much it."

"Thank you for sharing, Jamie," Madame smiles. At the back of the room, Verity Siren mouths _liar, liar, pants on fire _at the blonde boywith a superior smirk.

Lola-Mai is asked to contribute but she refuses. "I don't really remember not having my Gift. I can't remember when it started," she muttered. Verity's smirk grows wider. _She must be lying, and Jamie too_, Joy realised. Whatever, it didn't affect her in anyway, so who cared?

"Okay, Alice?"

Alice quietly looks at her desk and says really fast, "_Ifelldownthestairsandlostmymemoriesandtriedtosteal othersinstead,_" then sits quickly. Joy pulls a face. _Alice's patheticness is really starting to piss me off,_ she thought impatiently

She tuned out as Tristan just said, "Same as Lola." without further elaboration, Tom spouted off his usual confusing nonsense that trailed off halfway through, Lexie babbled about being hit by lightning. Madame skipped past Zack for some reason and said "Verity?"

Verity was still smirking, but ceased abruptly at her name. "I got my Gift because I'm _powerful_," she said in a _Duh-Obviously_ tone. Madame frowned but didn't push the matter.

"What about you, Joy?"

"How would I know?" Joy said, not caring that she was being rude. This class was really annoying her. "Why do we have to learn about this cr-junk anyway? How will talking about our gifts make them any better?! All I want is for my gift to _go away!" _

"Go away!" Lexie screeched, scandalized. "Why would you want that?!"

Verity sneered. "Why would you give up that _power?_ What a waste," she said contemptuously.

"Not all of us want to be freaks!" Lola shot back.

"Watch who you're calling freak, loser!"

"Calm down, everyone-" Tristan began, but he was cut off by Jamie's irritated "Shut up!"

"Jaime!" Exclaimed Zack. "Tristan's just trying to help!"

"Who even cares? This class is a total waste of valuable basketball practising time!" He retorted.

Alice laid her head and her desk and buried it under her arms to block out the noise. Tom was pulsating in waves of red and orange. Lexie started sparking.

"Seriously, control yourself Bayden!" Jamie snarked.

"Shut it, dork," she shot back, sending a crackle of energy in his direction. "Stop it!" he yelled.

"You're giving me a headache, stop!" cried Lola helplessly.

Joy snapped. "SHUT UP!" she roared. "YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS!" Her fists were covered by a creeping layer of steel, and she had to refrain the urge to punch a hole in the desk.

"Joy!" Now Madame wasn't just annoyed, she was angry. "Remember what I've told you about your temper. That was terribly rude, apologise to your classmates at once!"

"NO." Joy had been pushed one time too many. She was on the cliffs edge and she didn't care if she fell off, just as long as she could take her gift down too. _She couldn't take it anymore._

"_Joy. . ."_

"_SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP ALL OF YOU. I HATE YOU, I HATE THIS CLASS, AND I HATE THIS STUPID GIFT!"_ The room was deadly silent. Joy was on her feet, breathing heavily. Her toppled chair was slowly turning to steam, dissipating among the lights on the ceiling. "I'm sick of you picking on me. All of you. I've had enough. I'm leaving." She stormed to the exit, leaving smoking footprints in her wake.

Madame ran after her, but she was long gone. Joy could be fast when she wanted to. As the students returned to their classroom, an uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

The same thing was in everyone's minds. Where was Joy?

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Joy's feet pounded the pavement, beating an angry rhythm. She was furious. She hated how everyone always made fun of her, said she wasn't good enough, laughed at her. Some of the kids called her Joyless. _Joyless_. Perhaps she was. But, Joy thought, it was only because of her gift. If she didn't have her gift, she could finally be _Joy_.

She hadn't known where she was running, up until now. She was in a nice neighbourhood, nothing fancy, but not run down either. Unconsciously, her feet had followed a much worn path. The path to the person who could help her, who had promised they knew a way to get rid of her gift.

She walked up to the house and knocked on the door. After a few seconds impatient wait, it swung open to reveal a young woman with thick blonde hair that hung in perfect waves.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Her scarlet lips wore an amused smile.

"I've decided. I want your help. You said you could get rid of my gift. Well I want you to do it. Now."

The woman's face lit up in a slightly ominous way. "Very good." She smiled kindly, inviting Joy in her house with a sweep of her hand. "Come in and we can get started right away."

Joy walked in, heading towards the living room, while leaving the woman to close the door. "Finally." Serena Hancock whispered, with a greedy sneer.

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**Sorry if it sucks. Anyway, what do you think? Just out of curiosity, after you read the first chapter, who was your favourite character? And who was your least favourite? **

**To tell the truth i kind of have no idea where this story's going. I have a vague plotline but. . .?!**

**So, review, please! I'll update as soon as possible, bye for now!**


	3. Chapter 3 What I Want To Feel

**So the plot is thickening, I'm making it up as I go along, who knows what's going to happen! (I certainly don't!)**

**Anyway, I put a special Tom bit in, 'cause both FutureAuthor and xXBrokenMarionetteXx said they liked him best! **

**I really hate this chapter. I tried to improve it, but it's still awful. I'm in a really bad mood now. It's 1:48am and I'm in the middle of a god-damned bout of insomnia so I can't sleep. But I'm exhausted. Kinda like Tristan, actually. But I'm listening to acoustic LIGHTS songs so it's fine.**

-Lola-Mai-

Dragging her feet, Lola-Mai headed home. She unwrapped a new lollipop and stuck it in her mouth. Sometimes concentrating on the sweet flavour of the candy helped her block out everyone else's emotions.

Concentrating furiously, she ignored the swirls of colour dancing around the other pedestrians. For once couldn't she just get on with her own life?

But no. She felt surprise and curiosity coming from two women watching her. With her round face, pink, freckled cheeks, curly reddish-brown pigtails and baby-doll frills, Lola looked far too young to be a middle school student.

She hated it when she felt people feeling this way about her. She had actually skipped a grade. She wasn't just a cute face. She was actually smart as well. But these ladies didn't even see that.

Lola stuck her tongue out at them out at them, but for some reason she didn't enjoy the way their aura's soured to shock and horror, not the way she usually did.

Actually, she had been feeling really depressed lately. She didn't know if it was the influence of others or her own feelings, but it was the same anyway.

Lola walked as slowly as possible down the sidewalk, trying to delay the inevitable moment when she would arrive home.

She hated getting home. Lola-Mai had a suspicion that her parents were the reason she had developed her gift. They were so cold, so distant. She had never known what they were feeling, how she made them feel. And then one day, she had developed her gift and she had known. Nothing. They had hardly even known she existed. So wrapped up in their jobs, they didn't remember their own daughter.

Every time she saw them, she tried to impress them, to make them feel something when they looked at her face. She craved approval, recognition, affection, _love_. She wanted to feel that. She wanted them to feel that.

She had done everything. She was cute, a pretty child. She was smart, she skipped a grade. She never made trouble or picked fights, she was obedient. The perfect daughter.

Surely her parents would love her now.

She didn't care about any other colours dancing around her. She didn't let herself feel their emotions.

Because when her parents finally loved her, she would feel that stronger than any other emotion. And it would be the best thing in the world.

Now all she needed was to make them love her.

As if by coincidence, her phone beeped with a new text message.

It was from Serena.

_Hey, have you thought about my plan to make your parents love you? I'm pretty sure it will work, all we have to do is have you come over to my place, I'll send a fake ransom note saying you were kidnapped, and then after they panic, you go home and they'll be overjoyed._

_Think about it, ok._

_S._

Lola smiled. Now was the time.

She sent back a message that simply read:

_I'm in. I'll be at your place in five minutes._

_Lola-Mai_

Now was the time. She skipped off, humming happily.

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-Verity -

Verity stared in the mirror hungrily. Her eyes consumed her reflection, burning into the image.

"I'm not a bad person" she told herself. "It's for their own good. They said they didn't want their gifts! I'm doing them a favour. I'm not a bad person."

Satisfied, reassured, she turned and exited the room.

Because, you see, Verity Siren's magical voice didn't just work on others. It worked on her as well.

So as long as she told herself she was a good person. . . She truly believed she was.

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-Tom-

"Tommy, Tommy, come play with me!"

Tom turned to his little sister, Audrey. The serpent winding its way around his arm vanished.

"Please? You play the best games!"

"Ok", he smiled.

He spent many hours playing with Audrey, playing knights in the backyard, playing ships, stranded on a grassy ocean, hunting for faeries in the bushes, folding origami animals in the living room.

"Look, Dree, watch this!" Tom whispered, and her round face lit up in anticipation, knowing what was coming.

He blew on the paper creatures. A dragon and a crane soared above their heads, a dog and a cat scampered across the carpet. Three tiny green frogs hopped past.

"Yay!" Audrey cheered. "You play the best games Tommy!"

Tom smiled, his head already clouded by daydreams. The animals slowly came to a stop.

"Mummy, Tommy made the animals alive!" Audrey said excitedly to their mum, who had just entered the room. "He went whooosh-" she puffed up her cheeks "-and they came alive!"

"Very nice, darling," said Mrs Jones tiredly, looking over at her twelve year old son wearily. Why does she always say that? She wondered. What on earth does Audrey mean?

She watched Tom in despair. He was gazing off at something no one else could see, a creature of his imagination. Why, she thought, why can't he just be like all the other boys? Why does he always have to daydream and fill Audrey's head with his delusions?

She went into the kitchen, and her daughter followed, chattering about her afternoon.

"-and we went fairy hunting, and I saw a fairy again, Tommy saw one as well, there was a fairy in the garden today but it flew away and then-"

Why couldn't Tom just be a normal boy?

Tom sat in the other room, where a white tiger rested its head in his lap.

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**I really wish you could see the pictures i drew of all the characters! Lexie's in the outfit I described in chp 1, sparking like mad, Tristan looks a lot like L (from Death Note), Alice is crying, Jamie is being all smug in his basketball uniform, Verity is super tall and in purple, Lola looks really glum (only word to describe her expression!) and has a lollipop, Zack is half teleporting, Tom is making an origami crane fly (he looks so CUTE!) And Joy looks super angry, turning a rock into gold. Drawing helps me de-stress and I have been VERY stressed lately.**

**But anyway, thanks for reading my fanfiction! I go to an academic-orientated school so I have no free time, but I will try to update soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 Memories, Suspicions

**Thanks to my three loyal reviewers! Your reviews are so nice, they just make my day that much brighter! I love coming home and seeing new reviews so thanks so much you guys!**

**I'm so excited, because it's Tristan's turn in the spotlight! I really like Tristan, despite his character's darkness. He has a lot of depth, and he's really interesting to write. **

***Also, Alice and Tristan's conversation takes place just inside the entrance of the school, and there are only about three other kids around.**

-Alice-

Alice sat on the school bus alone. Her bag was on the seat next to her, preventing anyone from sitting there. Not that they'd want to in the first place, Alice reflected miserably. Tears welled up in her eyes, as they so often had since _the accident_.

That's how everyone referred to the fall that had resulted in two months in a coma and her permanent memory loss. All those memories she had collected, her life. Gone. A single instant had changed her life forever. One wrong step.

Now everything Alice did, she did with extreme caution. It had taken her a while to realise this was best, though. At first she was reckless to the point of insanity.

'My life is already ruined' she had thought. 'What have I got left?' But she still did have something.

Her dignity. Her pride. The remains of her shredded hope.

But they all went up in flames when she began using her new Gift for the first time. Secrets and lies, deceits and buried things. They all came to light in the minds of others. She had been a Queen Bee. A 'popular' bitchy girl. Everyone hated her, even the girls who had called themselves her best friends. She was horrified and disgusted by what she had found.

The way others saw her- was she really like that? After a few weeks back at school, she quickly became forgotten. Initial 'concern' and 'sympathy' from her 'friends' soon gave way to frustration and derision. No longer the intimidating girl she once was, they ignored her. She slipped to the back of their minds, little more than a memory. . .

. . . _just a memory . . ._

The bus pulled up a school. Alice was the last off, shuffling silently.

She wanted- no _needed_- her memories back. And she had a plan to get them.

And her plan was currently walking two metres in front of her in scuffed, ripped jeans.

"Hi Tristan."

He looked up in surprise. Dark bags shadowed his weary eyes. They were so dark, sometimes she wondered if he was an insomniac. And his eyes- they looked like they had seen all the suffering on the Earth, but could do nothing to help.

But, he could help. Tristan Mortem was a healer. And she wanted him to heal her memories.

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-Tristan-

Tristan looked up in surprise as Alice approached him. He shuffled uncomfortably. Tristan wasn't so good with people. And he didn't understand Alice. She was nice to him. He didn't get it, because no one was ever nice to Tristan Mortem.

He was strange. He made others feel odd, uncomfortable, the way they made him feel. He never made an effort to make conversation. That weird kid who was always bruised, or limping, or wincing in pain.

Because Tristan had a secret. His Gift had a dark side, one he hadn't told anyone, not even Madame. He didn't make pain disappear. He absorbed it. He erased their injuries by taking them into his own body. He could feel it as though it was his injury, but they were visible only as bruises over his skin. Once he had healed six car crash victims and been in so much pain he had blacked out. But that wasn't the worst part. Not only could he absorb the pain, but he could place it in someone else.

Usually it dispelled on its own after a while, but if he wanted to he could save it all up and push it into another person. Like he once had.

Tristan Mortem wasn't just a healer. He was also a murderer.

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-Alice-

Tristan looked a bit fidgety, but Alice didn't care. Today she was going to get her memories back. Tristan would bring them back. And she could be happy again.

Don't get her wrong; Alice actually did sincerely care about Tristan. But her memories come before all else.

"I was wondering, Tristan," she began nervously, "about your. . ." she lowered her voice ". . .gift."

He looked really confused. "What do you mean?"

A few metres away, Verity had got her phone out and was texting someone, not paying any attention to the warning bells. A few kids were also nearby, but they were far away enough to not be able to hear the conversation.

"Well, you know how you can heal people and all. . ."

"Yeah?" Tristan looked nervous. Maybe he knew what Alice was about to say, but it didn't matter.

"Well I know you can heal injuries, like physical ones. . ." Suddenly she was too nervous to say it.

Verity sauntered past, giving them a disdainful sneer. She swept out the front doors without a second glance. Tristan watched her curiously but Alice was too intent on her question to pay attention to Verity Siren.

"But can you heal. . . mental injuries, like amnesia. . .?" She clenched her hands in fists, squinched her eyes closed, repeating the same words in her head. _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, please say. . ._

Tristan hadn't said a word. She opened her eyes.

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-Tristan-

"I'm sorry" he whispered. "I can't heal mental injuries-"

Tears were in his eyes. But tears weren't just in Alice's eyes. They flowed down her cheeks, dripped off her chin, splashed on her white hands.

"I-I-" she sobbed, her words choking her, getting stuck in her throat. "I h-hoped- all this t-t-time. . ." She couldn't go on. Burying her face in her hands, she fled out the doors and down the stairs, ran outside.

"Wait! Alice!" Tristan called. But it was no good. She was gone. So all alone, he finished his sentence.

". . . properly yet."

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-Alice-

Alice ran out of the school in shock.

All these days, weeks, she had believed Tristan would be able to help her. But it was all just a stupid dream. She would never get her memories back. She was nobody. A ghost with no past. And she would be that way forever.

Suddenly she banged into someone.

"Finally," sniffed Verity Siren.

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-Verity-

Verity looked down at Alice in disgust. Urgh, the way she was sobbing, it was revolting! Did the girl have no shame?!

"Shut up! Stop crying!" She ordered sharply. Alice obeyed. She had no choice.

"Very good" Verity purred. "Now listen up, loser, 'cause I've got something important to tell you, and I hate repeating myself. Understand?" Alice nodded mutely. "Ok, here's what I want you to do. Go to the end of the street and wait outside the drycleaners. A red car will pull up. A blonde woman will be driving. You will get in the car. You will trust the woman and do anything she says. You will obey her completely. You got that?" Alice nodded again. "Good. And one last thing. You will at no time remember that I spoke to you. You will do what I said, without any memory of who told you to do this. Now go."

Silently, Alice turned and walked away.

Verity smiled. It was a twisted, lonely smile, devoid of any normal emotion, just pain.

_. . . It hurt. . . so much but. . . they _wanted_ this. . . It was the right thing . . . wasn't it?_

"Very good." She whispered. "Do exactly what Verity says. I am _powerful._"

"I am doing the right thing."

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-Joy-

Joy struggled to fight off the blackness that threatened to consume her mind once more. She tried to remember who she was, where she was. _My name is Joy Dove. I am thirteen. My hair is brown-blond. My eyes are dark blue. I am psychokinetic. I am at Serena's house. I cannot use my gift because. . . because. . . _Her mind struggled. Why couldn't she use her gift again? Oh yes, that's right, _because. . . because Verity said I couldn't. . ._

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-Lexie-

Lexie reclined back in her chair, until her hair touched the desk behind her.

"Get your hair off my desk, Bayden!" Jamie complained, flicking it with his ruler.

"Shut up Jamie" Lexie grinned. Infuriating stupid Jamie Night was so fun.

On her first day at school, she had been so charged up she had accidently shocked him. It wasn't that big a deal though. Seriously, thought Lexie, what kind of wimp can't stand a little zap? But apparently the Jamie Night kind of wimp couldn't, so he had thrown a basketball at her head. While he was hovering above her.

Lexie scowled, rubbing the top of her head. It had really hurt! But still, it was pretty stupid. Jamie's gift, that is. Hovering? What good was that? And anyway, all he used it for was cheating at basketball.

Lexie's gift though. . . now that was awesome, she thought in satisfaction. She still remembered the day it happened, four years ago. When she was struck by lightning.

On her palm was a vaguely star shaped scar, from when the lighting had entered her body. But there was no exit wound. Because the lighting had never left her.

She still remembered the feeling being hit had given her. It was amazing, indescribable. Intoxicating. And now the lightning was inside her forever. Her gift from the heavens. Lexie had been blessed. By electricity.

"Shut up yourself" Jamie grumbled.

She ignored him, pulling some pieces of metal that she had taken from various electronic toys, as well as a handful of multi-coloured wires. Carefully, she continued constructing a small mechanical dog. She only needed to add a few more wires.

This wasn't part of her gift. Lexie had always had a talent with building things. But her gift made it so much more convenient.

Now, finishing the dog she had spent two weeks building, she reached out and touched the end of the wire with her index finger.

-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!-

A charge travelled down her finger and into the wire. The small dog came to life. Lexie smiled happily, her gold eyes lighting up. She loved her gift.

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-Jamie-

Jamie glanced carelessly around the gifted classroom, and then paused.

"Does anything seem weird to you?" he asked Zack, who was sitting next to him.

Zack looked up, surprised that Jamie was talking to him. "What do you mean?"

'Well, there's something . . . off. Like, something's missing."

Zack's forehead wrinkled. "Yeah, now that you mention it. . ." he said slowly "where are Joy, Lola-Mai, Alice and Tom? Oh, and Verity too?" They looked round. The only students in the gifted classroom were them, Tristan and Lexie.

Lexie ignored them, head bobbing along to the music on her IPod, but Tristan turned towards them. Obviously he had been listening.

"I saw Alice this morning," he said quietly. "She was upset, and ran out the front of the school, and she didn't come back."

"She probably went home then." Zack commented. "She does that a lot, you know? But what about Joy? I haven't seen her since she stormed out of the classroom three days ago."

Jamie sat up straight. "You're right, she hasn't been at school! Normally she'd show up the next day, even if she got really mad. Remember that time she beat up that Glen Hudson guy? She was furious, but she didn't skip out on school."

"Yeah, that is strange for Joy. I mean, one day would be kind of understandable, but three?"

"And Lola? When was the last time you guys saw her?" Tristan asked.

"She was at school the day after Joy stormed out, wasn't she?"

"Yeah," Jamie said. "She's in my math class. I saw her. I remember, 'cause Mr Ensly confiscated her lollipop, and she got really mad. She didn't come to school the next day. Maybe she's sick. . .? And Tom-?"

"Wait, Tom called me this morning!" Zack exclaimed. "He said his mum's taking him to see a psychologist or something!"

"What the heck?" Jamie frowned. "Why would she take him to a psychologist?"

"She thinks his gift is some kind of delusion or something. It really freaks her out, I think. I remember the first time I went to his house, and she asked me which of Tom's classes I was in. When I told her we met in the gifted class, she was freaked." He smirked. "She probably thinks I'm crazy or something."

Jamie grinned. He was surprised at how much he was enjoying talking to Tristan and Zack. Normally he hung around with his basketball buddies. All they ever really talked about was sport.

It was silent as they thought for a while. "What about Verity?" Zack said finally. "I'm pretty sure I saw her this morning on the bus."

"I remember!" Tristan cried. The other two boys looked at him. "When I was talking to Alice this morning, Verity was standing nearby. Then, suddenly, she just left. I don't know if she was listening, but she would easily have been able to hear. Alice left the same way as her, and never came back."

"That's really weird. . ." Jamie frowned. "All of this is really weird."

Just then, Verity walked in the room. She looked the way she normally did. Cool and unruffled. Her grey eyes were unreadable. It was practically impossible to tell what was going on in her head.

"Wait, guys?" Zack said quietly, making sure she couldn't hear. "we know what Verity's gift is, right? She can _control_ people. All she has to do is tell them stuff. Do you think. . ." he hesitated. "Do you think Verity's got something to do with all this?"

_. . . My black heart . . . but yours is ebony . . . did you betray us?_

They all looked over at the blonde girl, their minds filled with suspicions. As Madame walked in, telling them to get their books out, Jamie leaned forward and whispered, "Meet me by the oak tree after school. We've got some investigating to do!"

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**Well, that's it for chapter four! I finally finished it (at 2am) I hope you guys like it! Zack and Jamie finally made a reappearance!**

**So, guess what! (it's not good news. . .)**

**On Friday, I got my algebra test results, and i got 49%. Yep. Not even half! I must be psychic or something though, because just before I walked into the classroom, I was like 'I bet I get 49!' I'm not even joking! How weird. . . But anyway, my mum's going to KILL me! Urgh, still haven't told her. . . I'm nervous.**

**AND our big project worth 70% of my maths grade requires me to research a famous mathematician and explain one of their theories. But I can't understand any of their theories! I'm doomed. . .**

**Sorry if I've bored you with my complaints though! If you've read this all the way to the end, I commend you! **

**So bye for now!**

**Miki, out!**


	5. Chapter 5 To The Oak Tree

**Yay! Chapter five! I haven't updated in a while, so I'm sorry! **

**Also, I love the name Tristan, don't you? I got it from book called Song of the Sparrow . .can't remember to author. . even though the book is on my shelf less than 3 metres away, it's night time so I can't see past the circle of light from my screen. I'm such an insomniac. Not even tired anymore. **

**Truthfully I have no idea what's actually happening so sorry this chapter's super short! I've noticed that i babble on a bit, so I'll stop typing now.**

-Zack-

As soon as the bell went Zack shot out of the classroom. Even though he could teleport, he wasn't allowed to do it in front of non-gifted people, so whenever he wanted to get somewhere fast he had to make sure there was no one around. It was a real pain, Zack thought, but he couldn't help it.

There was no one in the hall that afternoon, so one second Zack was there, and the next second he wasn't.

He shivered in delight, as a tingle raced down his spine. This was the sensation he got when he teleported, ticklish but nice.

Of course, he was the first one at the tree. Pleased with the accuracy of his teleporting –the ground for once, not some random place like up the tree- he sat down and got comfortable. Now he had to wait for the others.

-Tristan-

Tristan dragged himself up from his desk and slowly gathered his things. The other students spilled out of the classroom in a noisy, cheerful mob. Tristan began to exit the class. Kids filled the halls, calling out, laughing, smiling. Tristan walked even slower, if that was possible. He couldn't bear another afternoon all alone.

That face swam to the front of his mind again, the face of the one he had killed.

Tristan shuddered. Then he remembered. He was supposed to meet Jamie and Zack! A spark lit up his dead eyes, and he turned to walk in the opposite direction.

He had just managed to fight his way through the crowd to a less crowded corridor, when he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. Stifling a groan, he turned to face Phoebe Aryan.

"Hi." He said.

"Hey!" She seemed oblivious to his discomfort. "I was wondering if you could help me, my friend Jessica slipped over and twisted her ankle! Could you heal it for her?"

"Phoebe, I'm not a first aid kit, I can't just go around healing every little thing!" His voice rose to a shout. "Don't ever think about how it might affect me? Because it hurts me too, you know!"

No, he had to control himself. Usually Tristan was a quiet, timid person. But lately, with that face haunting him again, he had been bad tempered, irritable. Tristan never lost his temper because he couldn't afford to. The last time was the time he had killed someone.

"Just leave me alone, please Phoebe," he said quietly. "Forget about my gift. I'm not going to help you."

He walked off before she could respond.

-Jamie-

"J! Wanna go practise on the courts?"

Jamie barely turned. "No thanks, Kyle. Got plans already." He continued walking.

Kyle watched Jamie go in confusion. 'J' had never turned down a game of basketball before.

Jamie didn't even notice, his mind totally preoccupied by the missing Gifted students. Then he banged into a darkhaired boy standing completely still on the path, gazing off into the distance.

"Wha- Oh, hey Tom."

Tom stared at the sky dreamily. He didn't respond.

"Hey! Tom! Earth to Tom!" Jamie frowned.

"Huh? Oh hey Jamie" Tom said vacantly.

"Hey Tom, I'm meeting Zack and Tristan, do you want to come?"

"Hmmm" Tom murmured, looking totally spaced-out. A falcon swooped down towards him.

Jamie sighed in exasperation and grabbed his arm. "Come on" he said towing the boy behind him as he marched towards the oak tree.

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**Ok, in your reviews you've asked some questions so here are my answers:**

**No, Alice was not THE Queen Bee, but before the accident she was extremely 'popular' and part of that group of girls you get in every school, who are empty-headed, nasty, flirty etc. She was like the leader of the gang. But Verity was, and is, more popular.**

**I have no idea how to explain mathematical theories! I did my presentation but i'm not sure i'm going to get good marks for my report cause there wasn't an awful lot of maths. . .**

**Why Verity is helping Serena is a secret, (I'm not sure, in other words) and will be revealed later.**

**Why Verity always says "I'm doing the right thing" to herself is basically because what she is doing (manipulating, assisting in kidnap etc) is wrong, but because she has a hypnotic voice, she tells herself she's doing the right thing and so she believes it to be true. Basically, she's reassuring herself and trying to justify her actions.**


	6. Chapter 6 Plans

**Hi! Haven't slept in over 72 hours, but I'm feeling fine. Well actually I'm kinda stressing about school. If I wasn't stressed, I'd be sleeping right now.**

**Did you know Lexie's first name, Alexei, is actually a guys' name, but I liked it so much i used it for Lexie before i realised, and by then the name had stuck. So she's Alexei 'Lexie' Bayden. So, on with the story!**

-Lexie-

Alexei Bayden skipped out of the front doors and jumped down to the bottom of the stairs. Her hot pink skirt flared and her hair danced gold. Her headphones covered her ears as she sang along to Nicki Minaj.

She jumped on her skateboard and was about to push off, when she noticed Jamie dragging Tom around the side of the school. Switching off her music and abandoning her skateboard, she quietly hurried to follow them.

She followed them to the oak tree outside the gifted class, and hid behind another tree, peering out.

She was outraged to see Zack and Tristan already there, waiting awkwardly at the base of the tree.

_A secret gifted meeting! _She thought, _without me_! She was about to storm over there and give them a piece of her extremely angry mind, when Zack spoke. She leant forward to listen.

"Tom! You're back! How was the psychologist?"

Tom nodded vaguely.

"Tom! What's with you?" Zack asked, but Tom was too captivated by the waves lapping at his feet to answer.

"He was like this when i tried to talk to him as well" Jamie told them. "It's weird, I mean, Tom's pretty spaced out usually, but not like this."

Lexie stifled a yawn and rolled her eyes. Who cared about Tom? The only good thing about that weird kid was his gift, in her opinion. Was this all their stupid meeting was about? How lame.

She spun around to leave when Tristan said, "I can try to help Tom, but what about what we were talking about in class?"

Her curiosity piqued, she stayed where she was.

"Oh yeah, the missing gifted kids"

Missing gifted kids?! This is the first _I've _heard about this, Lexie thought. Wait . . . she searched her memory. They were right! Madame had even asked about it in class today. She thought hard. Joy. . . Lola-Mai. . . Alice . . . was that all? Yeah, because everyone else was here except . . .

"Do you really think Verity has something to do with all this?" Jamie said to Zack.

"It's just weird that she's always hanging around and her gift is really powerful. I dunno, it's just suspicious."

_Verity!? _Lexie was shocked. Verity had something to do with the missing students? No way, it was impossible . . . right?

Just then she heard her name.

". . . definitely sure we shouldn't have invited Lexie, Jamie?" Tristan asked.

"No way! That girl's a total pain! Anyway, what help would she be? All she does is spark!" Jamie said scornfully.

Lexie scrunched her hands into fists, furious and hurt. Sparks leapt from her skin.

She turned her back on the boys and stormed away.

"Total pain? Useless?" she said angrily to herself. "I'll show them! I'll solve this all by myself and find the others! Then no one will call me useless!"

She stomped over to her skateboard, and was about to pick it up when a hypnotic voice spoke behind her.

"Hello, Lexie."

She was frozen, staring at the ground. She saw a pair of purple sandals saunter into her line of vision, and stop in front of her.

"Look at me," the voice purred, and Lexie had no choice but to look up into the grey eyes of Verity Siren.

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-Lola-Mai-

Lola-Mai had only the vaguest of ideas about where she was. But actually, her surroundings were of no interest at all to her. She was more focused on the two spots of colour dancing in the darkness. One was red, shot through with bolts of orange and steely grey, threatening to be consumed by the soft colour of sleep. Directly opposite the bed Lola was lying in, it was surely Joy's aura. Lola didn't know anyone else with such anger and determination, to fight against the sleep.

A few beds over was deepest blue, already consumed. Lola breathed in deep. It tasted of sorrow and hopelessness, surrender. She was certain this was Alice.

Unconsciousness edged into her mind, and only barely did she remain awake, as she heard a door open. Three new auras entered the room. Two were satisfied, pleased. The third was another under the influence of the darkness. But for half a second it cleared, letting through a gold and pink bolt of emotion. Lola would have gasped if she had had enough air in her lungs. But Lexie's aura quickly became overtaken again, and the feeling passed.

The other left the room. Lola couldn't hear their voices through the haze, but she knew they were speaking.

Barely keeping her eyes open, Lola focused on Joy's aura. She let it wash through her. But she needed more. "_Forgive me, Joy_" she whispered. She absorbed it, and she sucked it all into herself. Joy fell into the black. And she used her gift in a way she had never used it before. She _amplified _the emotion, increased it tenfold.

It was like one of Lexie's shocks. She sat up straight. She was freed. But not free.

Standing, she walked slowly to the door. Locked, of course. Her gift had woken her up, but it would not allow her to escape.

She surveyed the room. Of course, there was only one thing to do. She walked over to where Joy lay, and took her hand. She closed her eyes.

Then Lola-Mai crumpled to the ground, and all was black.

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**Well, that's it for chapter 6! Anyway, I don't know why, but i kinda feel like doing character profiles . . . so what the heck! Here's Lexie!**

Alexei 'Lexie' Bayden-

Bright blonde hair, crackling gold eyes, scarlet lips. Bubbly, over-enthusiastic, beautiful, easily sidetracked, holds a grudge. Little sisters called Skye and Bex, older brother Severin. (Names stolen from The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti!)

Dislikes- Non-gifted people, boring clothes, Jamie Night, uncharged IPods

Likes- Her gift, bright colours, music, skateboarding, platform boots, her siblings

Hit by lightning when she was nine, she now possesses an abundance of electricity inside her body that appears to constantly renew itself, even when she releases it all. She loves her gift, and uses it to keep her IPod constantly charged and to power the little 'toys' she builds from scraps of metal and wires that she keeps into her pockets. Any electrical device in close proximity to her receives a power boost, which has caused a lot of confusion in the past.

She loves music, but is horribly tone deaf, and can't sing a note to save her life. Lexie is very enthusiastic and cheerful, but if you make her made she'll shock you and hate you forever more. She likes to say she's friends with everyone but . . . she and Jamie are like Severus Snape and Sirius Black. She thinks all non-gifted people are stupid, except her siblings.

**So please read and review! Tell me which character profile you want next!**

**Later! Miki.**


	7. Chapter 7 Stranger

**Hi there. It's Miki! I finally got some sleep. I feel much better now! Insomnia sucks.**

**You know, some troglodyte thought it would be funny to rip out my house's internet cable so I had no connection so I couldn't post. What is wrong with the world?**

**Also i haven't been updating because i haven't been getting any reviews . . . Where have all you guys gone? I feel slightly rejected . . . well not that much but still :( **

**Get ready to meet the mysterious Carmin! (whom none of you probable remember, it's been that long.) **

-Tom-

'_Tom. Tom, can you hear me? Tom!" _

Tom could hear the voice talking to him, but it sounded like it was coming from far away. It was faint, but it sounded . . . familiar. Yet Tom had no idea who it belonged to.

A pale face framed with dark spikes swam into his vision. _"Tom!" _

It was like everything was happening behind a thick, white mist, impossible to concentrate or focus on.

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-Tristan-

Tristan frowned at Tom. The hazel eyed boy met Tristan's gaze, but there was no recognition in Tom's eyes.

He turned to the other two boys. "I don't know what's wrong with him. I've never seen anyone like this before. It's like he isn't registering anything around him." Behind him, Tom raised his hands, releasing a stream of tiny butterflies.

"Do you think it's something you can heal?" Zack asked, looking at his friend in concern.

"I don't think this is an injury, even a mental one. It's like he's been . . . hypnotised or something."

Zack looked at Tristan dubiously, then turned to Jamie. "Hey, what do you think. . ." he began to ask, but then noticed Jamie was frowning at his watch.

He stood abruptly. "Sorry guys, I have to go," Jamie said and ran off.

"What's up with him?" Zack asked, as Tom radiated rainbows behind them.

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-Jamie-

Only stopping when he arrived at his destination, Jamie ran. He sank down at the entrance, puffing guiltily. He had forgotten what day it was, and now he was late. Every Wednesday afternoon, straight after school, he came here.

To the hospital.

He went straight up. All the staff recognized him, and he had been doing this for almost four years now. He couldn't believe he had almost forgotten.

Walking into the small room, he sat on the chair beside the bed. "Hey, Carmin. How are you?" He said to the figure in the bed, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. All around them, machines beeped and whirred.

Four years ago, Carmin was hit by a car. She had been in a coma for four years. For four years his wealthy parents had spent more and more of their money desperately searching for the person who could help her. For four years Carmin had slept. His twin sister hadn't opened her eyes in four years.

"Sorry I'm late," Jamie said, and proceeded to tell her about his week.

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-Joy- 

It had been dark for a long time. So very long. But now, Joy could see again.

And what she could see was a room with nine beds, two occupied, and a small girl in a pink dress crumpled on the ground beside her.

It took a few seconds to register that the girl was Lola-Mai. Joy stumbled out of the bed and knelt next to Lola.

"Hey, wake up." She gently shook the petite girl's shoulder. "Lola? Can you hear me?" No response. She shook her harder. "Lola. Lola!"

She jumped to her feet, and hurried to the next occupied bed. "Alice? Alice?! Alice! Wake up!" The girl turned a little, but did not stir. At the final bed, Joy was losing hope.

"Lexie, wake up! LEXIE! Can you hear me?!"

She ran to the doors, pulling. She rattled the handles, tears running down her cheeks. "Let me out!" She smacked them with her palms, then her fists. "Let me out, let me OUT, LET ME OUT!" Her voice rose to a scream. She thumped her hands, willing the cold metal to change but, for once, her gift failed her.

She fell to the ground, and cried.

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-Zack-

"There's not much we can really do with the three of us, is there?" Zack said to Tristan.

"Maybe we should just consider ourselves as two," said Tristan quietly. "Since I don't think Tom's going to be an awful lot of help."

They looked over at Tom, who had flowers growing all over the vines that curled up his arms and torso. Tiny birds flittered in a halo above his head, and he smiled serenely.

"You're probably right," Zack sighed. What was wrong with his friend?

"Maybe we should get going?"

"Yeah, okay."

Zack grabbed Tom's arm. He didn't trust him to get home safely in this state. "Later," he saluted Tristan, and vanished, leaving the healer to slouch home slowly, all alone.

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-Jamie-

Jamie stretched and stood up. The sun was glowing orange outside the window, and he should probably be getting home. Not that his parents would miss him.

With a sigh, he brushed Carmin's hair back gently. "See ya next week sis." He said quietly, and walked to the door.

He slid it open, and was surprised to see a blond woman standing outside.

"Jamie Night, am I correct?" She purred.

Immediately defensive, he took a step back. "Who are you and how do you know my name?" He demanded.

"Tou-chy," The woman smirked. "My name is Serena Hancock, and I'm a specialist in hypnotherapy. I was sent here by your parents, Alia and Michael Night. I believe you are acquainted with them?" Her smirk grew larger, and so did Jamie's irritation. But one thing caught his attention.

"You can help Carmin?" He asked warily.

"Oh yes, I'm an expert in my field. I helped an unresponsive, amnesic boy found on the streets to talk again." She gave that annoying smile of someone with a private joke. "I'm sure your sister will be a walk in the park. Here, let me give you a demonstration."

She pulled out a large thing that looked like a spinning dinner plate. All of a sudden, Jamie couldn't tear his gaze away from it.

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The hospital staff didn't think there was anything strange about Jamie Night leaving with the young blue eyed woman. After all, with that thick blond hair, they must be related.

And anyway, Jamie was far too smart to go anywhere with a stranger.

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**Yep, Jamie's gone. . . I suddenly realised I had bumped off all the girls, so I had to get rid of a guy and Jamie was the lucky winner!**

**Haha, Joy is so bad under pressure. Lola was all like 'oh I'm awake. Oh, the door's locked. Oh well, better wake Joy.' And Joy just freaks out! Also, the reason Lola could use her gift in confinement but Joy couldn't was cause her gift wasn't considered dangerous. **

**Also, to all Gifted fans, did you get my Carter/Paul reference there? *Laughs at own joke***

**And now. Character profiles!**

Jamie Night-

Short, blonde hair, green eyes, impatient, popular, easily bored, arrogant, loves basketball. Twin sister Carmin, parents Alia & Michael Night.

Dislikes- Grammar, Football, Lexie Bayden, soup, his parents

Likes- His sister, basketball, using his gift, mysteries

He told Madame that when he was five he fell down a hole and no one heard his cries for help. Being very short he couldn't climb out and was too impatient to wait for help so he floated out of the hole. But he actually got his gift when Carmin fell off the balcony of their fifteenth floor apartment. Jamie loves to play sports, especially basketball (but not football) and constantly boasts about his feats. He likes his gift, but not the gifted class. He's pretty short. Plays on the school basketball team and, despite his size, holds the school record for most slum dunks during a single game. The gifted class suspect this has something to do with his gift. He hates adults, especially his parents. He hates Lexie. Very arrogant. When he was nine his sister was hit by a car and is in a coma in hospital.


	8. Chapter 8 Family Love

**Yaaaaay! A review! This is my first update of the summer holidays (or winter for all you in the northern hemisphere!), so I just wanted to say Merry Christmas (to all you who celebrate it) and wish you guys a happy new year :) Remember to sleep ;)**

**Okay, just a note, Verity lives alone, in her own house. If you wonder how a 14 year old accomplished this, just think about her gift **

*** Verity's on the stairs, that's how she's looking down.**

-Verity-

Verity flopped down on her bed, clutching her head. All she could feel was a piercing, throbbing ache in her brain. She had been using her gift so much in these past few days, and the stress was starting to show.

If she overused her gift she would get headaches, then migraines, followed by dizzy spells, and sometimes even black outs.

Right now she was in the migraines zone, and dizziness wasn't far away. And it was all _her _fault. Verity hated _her. _She thinks she controls everyone, just cause of her little _talent,_ Verity thought angrily, but she doesn't! I'm the one with a Gift! I'm the one who controls people!

But not _her. _Shewas the only one Verity couldn't control and it was infuriating. "She just shows up on my doorstep and invades my home!" Verity yelled, kicking the wall. Normally Verity was cool and composed, but she always made Verity lose control. The control she fought so hard for in her life. The control that had caused her to develop her Gift.

Control and Truth. The two things Verity prized above all others. And _she_ had crushed and burned both of them.

She had appeared a month ago, after years, on Verity's doorstep, and had proceeded to take over Verity's house and force her to work for her. _I hate it! I hate her!_

Verity didn't know if she could handle the lies anymore. It sounds stupid, but Verity only hated two things, losing control and lying. Okay, and _her. _ And all this lying was really getting to her. Lying to her classmates was bad enough, but lying to Madame was awful. There was something about those eyes. . .

Lost in thought, Verity didn't hear the car pull up in the garage. But she did hear the keys jingle in the lock, and the door open.

She dragged herself up, and exited her room, stumbling as the pain returned full force.

"Good evening, Verity, dear," purred that hateful voice. She was obviously happy about something. "Guess what? I got Jamie Night! Aren't you so happy?!"

Verity stared down***** at that head of thick blond hair, so like hers, yet the person who owned it was so different. Serena looked up at Verity with a malicious smile. "Now hurry up. I need you come break Mr Night." She swept out the door.

Verity glared at her sister's back with a look that could only be described as hatred.

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-Joy-

Slumped on the ground, Joy wiped the tears from her cheeks. She leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the door and thought very hard.

Obviously she was awake. She was pretty sure she had been asleep for three days. Where ever she was, it sure didn't look like Serena's house. And Lola-Mai, Alice and Lexie were here too. And they were all asleep.

So how she woken up? And why was Lola on the floor . . . ?

Joy sprang to her feet and hurried back to the Japanese-American girl. Lola was on the ground next to the bed Joy had woken in. There was surely a good reason for this, since Lola didn't strike Joy as the type to just fall asleep on the floor. Joy carefully lifted her diminutive frame and carried her over to a bed that looked as though it had been recently occupied. There was no harm in being careful. Obviously, Lola had something to do with Joy's conscious state, and if Serena or Verity or anyone came in she didn't want them to figure it out.

"How did you wake me up?" Joy whispered to the sleeping girl, not expecting an answer, just needing to say something. In reply, there was the sound of an unlocking door.

She spun in panic, and seeing the door opening, she flew across the room to her bed, and tried to feign sleep.

Through half closed eyes she watched Serena and a tall man with deep blue eyes enter the room. "Hurry now, Verity," said that voice that Joy had so trusted. "We haven't got all night!" She laughed.

And the icy haired traitor entered the room, with Jamie Night behind her. He looked completely out of it; his eyes glazed over and half closed. The man led him over to a bed, and he lay down obediently. "Come on, let's get this done," The stranger grumbled.

"Hurry up Verity!" Serena snapped as Verity lingered by the door.

"OK! Whatever. . ." With a slouch that very much reminded Joy of Tristan, Verity approached Jamie, and spoke. "You will be unable. . ." Verity's mumble grew too quiet to hear.

"Ok, we're done here" Said Serena impatiently, once Verity stopped speaking. She and the man turned to exit.

"What a pain, all these kids . . ." He said, as they left.

"But it'll all be worth it in the end." Joy could practically hear the greed in her voice, and wondered how on earth she had never sensed it before.

The voices grew fainter. And still Verity remained.

She paced the aisle, seemingly deep in thought, resentment and hatred marring her regal features. "There's no point" she muttered. "Stupid Serena . . . Too many lies . . . I hate it!" She clutched her head as though in pain.

"Verity!" Serena barked from the next room.

With one last glance, Verity strode from the room, slamming the door behind her.

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-Tristan-

Tristan pushed open the front door to the tiny apartment, dully noting he had forgotten to lock it again. Not that they owned much worth stealing anyway.

"I'm home, mum," he called, to which there was no reply, not that he had expected one. His mum was probably asleep, seeing as she worked night shifts at the hospital. In fact, he and his mum usually only saw each other in the mornings, when she got home and he was leaving for school. Though it was almost a relief, to tell the truth.

He walked into his tiny bedroom, and lay down on his bed, exhausted.

He could never face her, because of what he had done. Despite the fact he had done it all for her, to keep her safe, she still despised him for it. After all, what mother wanted a murderer for a son?

It didn't matter that they had both hated him, that he had hit them till they cried. His mother would always hate him because he had killed his father.

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**And the story goes on! I've been having so much trouble with timing because in the beginning I had no idea what day it was, so this is getting a bit confusing for me to fit in all the events because pretty much everything happened on Wednesday. Three kidnappings, Joy and Lola waking up, Serena just generally being evil. . . damn.**

**Well here's a character profile!**

Tristan Mortem-

Slim and slight, scruffy dark black hair, dark blue/black eyes, dark shadows under eyes, very pale, quiet, a loner, very compassionate doesn't trust others, often bruised and appears to be in pain, possibly an insomniac.

Dislikes: Pain and suffering, alcohol, crime, the colour red

Likes: Healing, happiness, peace, playing guitar

When Tristan was young his dad would get drunk and he hurt Tristan and his mother. Little Tristan couldn't bear the sight of his kind mother injured and developed the ability to heal. He can heal anyone except himself.

At school he is very quiet, he dislikes talking to others, and doesn't have any friends, but he gets on reasonably well with most of the members of the Gifted class. He plays guitar. His mother Cecilia works night shifts at the hospital.

Tristan is just developing the ability to heal not just physical injuries, but mental ones as well. He studies people closely from underneath his long bangs, and knows more about the other Gifted kids then they realise. Madame believes it is this that gives him great insight into people, the reason his gift is evolving.

He hates the fact that there are so many hurting people in the world. When he heals someone he absorbs the hurt and pain into himself, so he is constantly in pain. It shows only as bruises. He is either able to store the pain or let it fade over time. If he stores it he can push it into another, meaning if he stores enough he can kill them. But if he absorbs too many injuries into himself in a short amount of time he will die. Storing is how he killed his father.

**Later, xoxoxox, Miki Dear-Dark :)**


	9. Chapter 9 The Totally Out Of It Trio

**OMIGODS! I got a new review and i found my notes (for this story, I lost them) all in one day! I'm so happy! Back to irregular sleeping patterns though. My brain is really messed up.**

-Zack-

Zack sat in the back row of the Gifted classroom as usual. Tom wasn't here yet, so Zack had nothing to do. He slouched down and surveyed the room. Not that there was much to see. Actually, he was the only one there. And that was weird because usually Lexie was the first one there, grinning and sparking all over the place.

Actually, Zack thought, he hadn't seen Lexie all day. She hadn't been in homeroom, or maths. _Maybe she's sick . . .? _Zack thought doubtfully. Then again, that wasn't all that likely, given the recent . . . disappearances . . . of a bunch of the gifted students. Maybe Lexie had vanished as well?

In fact, Zack hadn't seen Lexie since Wednesday, and it was Monday now. _Come to think of it_, Zack realised, sitting bolt upright in his seat, _I haven't seen Jamie since Wednesday either! Or Alice!_

And _Joy and Lola-Mai still haven't shown up! Joy disappeared on Monday and Lola never showed up on Wednesday._

But only one thought resonated in his mind. _There's something weird going on in this class._

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-Tristan-

Tristan's mind was a storm of black clouds as he entered the Gifted classroom. His body ached with invisible injuries and his head spun with thoughts, each wilder than the next.

Sometimes Tristan thought death was a fact of life.

Sometimes Tristan thought life was a fact of death.

Sometimes Tristan wondered what would happen if he told everyone he was a murderer.

Sometimes Tristan wondered what would happen if he told no one he was a murderer.

Sometimes Tristan wondered if he was going insane.

Sometimes Tristan thought he was already insane.

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-Zack-

Zack sat up as Tristan entered the classroom. Finally, someone to talk to! With Tom suddenly MIA Zack was without a companion, and that was no fun at all.

"Hey, Tristan!" he called. Tristan continued walking as if he hadn't heard and took a seat at the front of the class. "Tristan!" His expression didn't change. He didn't even blink. "TRISTAN!" Zack screamed in annoyance. Tristan turned and stared at him dully.

What was up with that? Zack wondered. Tristan looked totally out of it! He attempted conversation. "Hey, do you know where Jamie is? I haven't seen him since Wednesday afternoon."

Tristan jerked in his seat and a spark of life returned to his eyes. "Oh, uh, sorry, I haven't seen Jamie either. . . I mean, it's strange isn't it. . .?" His voice trailed off as he stared at the door in a preoccupied manner. Zack turned to face the door, where Verity was entering. Teleporting quickly into the seat next to Tristan he leaned towards the healer and whispered, "Verity's been acting weird since Wednesday. Do you think she has something to do with this?" But Tristan barely had enough time to nod before the door opened again and Zack spun around quickly.

"Tom!" he cried. And Tom it was. An indigo-glowing very spaced out looking Tom staring at the miniature solar system that drifted around his head, but still Tom all the same.

"Tom, don't tell me you were walking round the school with planets orbiting around your head!" Zack said concernedly, and he teleported to the door (well face first into it, but let's not judge)and quickly checked the corridor for freaked out students, but it was empty. Phew, he sighed, and teleported back to his desk. "You have to be more careful, Tom," he scolded, but his heart wasn't in it.

Usually Zack looked out for Tom, to make sure he didn't use his gift in public. But lately Tom kept vanishing and then showing up again acting strange.

"Tom, where have you been?"

". . .psychologist. . ." Tom murmured, and promptly fell asleep at his desk, the planets exploding into tiny sparks, and then vanishing.

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-Verity-

Verity knew the rest of the gifted class was beginning to suspect her. It was pretty obvious. They thought they were being discreet, but with all their suspicious glances, and Zack teleporting immediately when she walked in and whispering to Tristan, they couldn't be any more obvious.

But she didn't really care. After all, with her gift she could stop them from doing anything about it.

Plus, only the stupid ones were left. Tom, the space-cadet who literally lived in his own little world and could hardly tie his own shoelaces, he was already being taken care of. Zack, the prankster who only had one friend and could barely teleport three metres without bashing into a door or ending up in a tree, he was hopeless. And Tristan, that creepy insomniac healer with no friends at all, who constantly moped around the place with a woe-is-me look on his face, he could barely even register the reality around him.

And seeing how easy it had been to grab the rest of the class and the actual smart ones, this totally out of it trio would be a piece of cake.

Like Joy- simple. Serena 'accidentally' bumped into her one day and saw her gift, then befriended her and told her she could get rid of her gift. Then Serena had hypnotised her and Verity had used her gift to block Joy's psychokenesis .

Lola-Mai was so gullible it was laughable. She was so desperate for her parents attention that when her 'friend' Serena had offered to pretend to kidnap her so her parents would notice her, she came running. Seriously, who fell for such a stupid plan? In fact, it was so stupid that Verity told Serena she should be in charge of the plans from now on.

And so she had lured Alice to Serena. It was just luck actually that Tristan got Alice all upset, but Alice ran outside in tears three times a day, so Verity had texted Serena to wait outside the drycleaners and when Alice appeared she sent her there.

And Lexie was so stupid, hanging around all afternoon, it was easy to get her to tell Verity all about what the four fools at the oak tree were talking about then send her straight to Serena with a message that Jamie Night was getting suspicious.

Then Serena had taken care of Jamie. But by this time Verity was starting to wonder -why was she helping Serena? Sure, they were sisters, but they had always hated each other with a ferocity that had startled their parents. Anyway, using her gift so much had given her a white-hot migraine and she had forced Serena to wait over the weekend so she could recover.

After all, a broken tool was of no use, and that was all Verity had ever been to her sister. Something to use to achieve her goals, an easy short cut to the winner's podium. And despite her gift, Verity had never been able to stop it.

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**This chapter isn't what i originally intended on writing, actually it's quite different. I didn't edit this chapter so i apologize if it doesn't really make sense. **

**Also Jamie, Lola, Lexie, Tom and Zack are in seventh grade and Alice, Verity Tristan and Joy are in eighth grade, so sorry if i said anyone from separate years shared classes :)**

**Okay so here's a little bit of info about. . . ****Lola!**

Lola-Mai Iketani-

Short, cute, red-brown curly hair, brown eyes, freckles, Japanese-American, likes pink, loves sweets especially lollipops, smarter than she looks, skipped a grade, grew up in Japan, dresses in Sweet Lolita. Dad is Japanese, mom is American.

Dislikes: Lexie Bayden, sour foods, maths, the dark, teachers

Likes: Lollipops, pink, manga, Sweet Lolita, her parents noticing her

Lola developed her gift in the hopes to know what her cold distant parents felt. She can sense peoples emotions by seeing a coloured aura around them. She finds it easier to sense strong emotions; normal ones harder to pick up and she can't feel faint ones, only see them as streaks of colour in the aura.

Everything Lola does, she does in the hopes of gaining her parents approval. She usually ignores the auras around her and tries to suppress strong ones because when her parents finally acknowledge her she wants to feel that emotion stronger than any other feeling.

She also dislikes sensing other peoples emotions because she says it annoys her. She is mostly unaffected by her gift but if lots of people around her are feeling the same emotion or someone is feeling a very very strong emtion it will influence her mood.

Lola looks a lot younger than she actually is because of her pigtails, round face, frilly pink dresses and petite stature. Since she skipped a grade she is a year younger than the other gifted students in her year (she's 11)

Lola is always eating lollies and sweets. She says the sweet taste distracts her from the auras, but she actually just likes the taste. She acts really grumpy and depressed around Lexie to counter Lexie's intense happiness (the reason she hates Lexie). Her parents don't know about her gift.

**Thanks for reading, please review my story :) xoxox Miki Dear-Dark**


	10. Chapter 10 'Hey'

**YAY! Chapter Ten! I can't believe I've come this far! Also to Lian Seller- THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! Your review made me so happy :) It was so awesome you just made my week! I'm so happy now!**

**Also I found out why the rest of the Gifted series isn't published. Apparently the publishers, Macmillan's, isn't interested anymore! Which totally sucks :(**

**But on a more positive note, Zack has finally graduated from 'random background filler' to 'actual legit character' :) Good for him! Also Joy cracks me up, but I think it's just me. . .**

-Joy-

Joy screamed in frustration, kicking the door violently then swore loudly and clutched her foot. She'd been in here for exactly one week now and she still had no idea how to escape, let alone wake up any of her fellow students. A couple of times a woman had in to check on them, but Joy had only briefly considered tackling her and running. There was no guarantee that there wouldn't be others somewhere else in the house and anyway, the woman's flat blue eyes scared Joy. They almost seemed inhuman.

Joy sighed and flung herself onto 'her' bed. Sure, she had a gift. But that gift was useless if she couldn't use it.

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-Tristan-

Tristan silently watched Verity. He knew what she was doing. He didn't know why, exactly, but he knew how. Her motives were becoming clearer, and if Madame would bring up the disappearances in class today he would be able to. . .

"Class, today we have something very important to discuss," a serious-faced Madame said as she entered the room._ Aha_.

"Over the last week, we have experienced a series of alarming . . . vanishings . . . with the students in this class. Your parents have been informed to be on watch for any suspicious characters. I would advise you to proceed with caution from now on. We can sure that whoever these people are, they are targeting this class."

Tristan looked over at Verity. She flinched slightly at Madame's words. _Got her._

He tuned out the rest of the class as he began to plan. He needed to confront Verity _without_ her being able use her gift.

Then Tristan grinned. He was very good at lip reading.

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-Lola-Mai-

Black had to be the worst colour in the world. Lola hated the taste of a black aura, bitter and terribly sad, empty and hollow, a soul with no hope. Sometimes Lola felt black. Right now, Lola felt black.

There was no escaping the sleep. At least, that's what Lola had thought. But she had woken up. She had woken up Joy. And now she was waking up again.

For some reason this persuasion Verity had used on her was already fading. . .

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-Tom-

All his life, people had said that there was something wrong with Tom. Teachers, friends, classmates, relatives, but most especially his mother.

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-Tristan-

Madame was talking about her other class again. Apparently this class had much better control, and so once again an argument was waging. Usually it was Lexie or Jamie but today it was Zack adamantly insisting that they had pretty good control as well.

And so once again Tristan was not listening. He never really listened but today he had an actual reason.

Tristan was going to confront Verity. And three facts were spinning through his mind.

1- Tristan was an insomniac and needed complete silence to sleep.

2- No matter what she believed she could do, it was Verity's voice that commanded and drew out the truth. She didn't actually control people's minds.

3- Tristan knew a lot more than Verity could imagine.

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-Verity-

When the bell rang Verity practically leapt up and strode from the room before Madame could even open her mouth. She swept in the nearest bathroom and slumped against the porcelain sinks. The door swung open accompanied by the sounds of chattering voices.

"GET OUT!" Verity barked and they hastily retreated. The door slammed.

She let out her breath and pressed her fingers to her temples. She was really not in a people mood. _Random flashes of anger_, she reflected humourlessly. _I'm starting to turn into Joy_. Obsessively avoiding others. _Just like Lola-Mai. _What was next? Sobbing all over the place like Alice? Skipping and being irritatingly perky like Lexie? Bragging like Jamie? _Yeah right, I'm just being paranoid._

After a few minutes, when the sounds outside had ceased, Verity opened the door and went to her locker. She was methodically organising her books when she heard the footsteps.

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-Joy-

Joy was sitting on the end of her bed staring at Lola's sleeping body which had been twitching oddly for the past couple of minutes. Joy wondered distractedly what was wrong with her. And then Lola sat up.

Joy was so shocked she fell forward towards the bed frame, but instead of the painful collision she was expecting she ended up on the floor in a puddle of . . . custard?

Okay, this was happening waaay to fast for her brain to process. Joy scrambled to her feet and looked back and forth wildly. Lola was awake and the bed frame was now custard. . . something not-quite-right was going on here.

"Hey Joy" said Lola, completely unruffled, unwrapping a lollipop. While a small part of the back of her mind was wondering where the heck Lola got all these lollipops from, Joy gaped at her.

"Hey? HEY?! We're trapped in some room with half our class and you say HEY?! Seriously, what is wrong with you?!" Joy ranted aimlessly getting really angry for some reason.

Lola flinched as the strong emotions assaulted her and Joy felt kinda guilty.

"Okay sorry . . . but seriously what is actually going on here?!"

Lola stared innocent-eyed back at her. "Why the hell would I know?"

Joy smacked the bed next to her. "Ow!" she said automatically then realised it hadn't hurt. They both stared at the patch of sponge where metal used to be.

". . . . I guess I got my gift back."

". . ."

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**And thus concludes the story. . . No I'm joking! **

**I really struggled on this chapter, could you tell? **

**Anyway we just got our school laptops (finally!) so any mistakes in this chapter are because I have no idea how to use this thing XD**

**Also I have no idea why Tom's so popular but next chapter will be Tom-centric (does that even make sense?) so this chapter is Joy X)**

Joy Dove-

Curly Brown-blond hair, dark blue eyes, tanned, constantly scowling, sullen, angry, always in a bad mood, stomps around, very effective death stare, aggressive, yells a lot, possible anger-management issues. Family- ? No one really knows but apparently she has an older half-brother. Her parents are actually quite nice.

Dislikes- Her gift, Phoebe Aryan & crew, being made fun of, and pretty much everything else in the known world

Likes- The colour orange

Joy is constantly angry and she hates her gift which is, she claims, the cause of all the misfortunes in her life. Eternally in a bad mood, she pretty much only makes an effort to be calm around Lola because she sympathises with her gift.

Joy is easily angered, and loses control a lot, meaning her gift often becomes involved. Her gift is extremely powerful but she has no control over it what-so-ever. No matter how hard she tries she can't influence it and it pretty much ruins her life.

Joy is often rude to teachers and other people in general and because she finds it impossible to explain why she doesn't have her homework, stationary, books etc. she usually ends up in detention.

Because of her attitude to life she's been given the nickname Joyless, which she despises. She believes that if she gets rid of her psychokenisis then she will be normal and happy and so is desperate to lose her gift. She's very gullible where her gift is concerned.

**Please review my story! Miki Dear-Dark X) **


	11. Chapter 11 Remembering and Forgetting

**Okay, I'm back! Sorry for the unplanned (not so) mini hiatus, this past week I've been literally **_**drowning**_** in homework. A 3 part major maths project and homework, English essay, science test, 2 social sciences document studies, health project, art homework and to top it off, 2 Italian tests and homework! Yeah, I'm a zombie now. Gods, I hate high school. Well, I wrote you guys an EXTRA long chapter to make up for it!**

**Also, apologies for all the italics in the Verity scenes. That was the best way to use emphasis. I may have slightly overdone it. . . **

-Tom-

All his life, people had said that there was something wrong with Tom. Teachers, friends, classmates, relatives, but most especially his mother.

Tom stared out the window as rain stained the glass indigo and blue, completely in his own little world. What did reality matter when his dreams were so much more beautiful, and so much less lonely?

Voices called his names far away but he didn't hear them.

He watched the tiny flowers blooming on his desk and smiled.

Yes, his dreams were much better than real life.

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-Verity-

Verity swung around, fast. Tristan stood behind her with that stupid half smile he got when he thought he'd said something smart.

"What do _you _want, freak?" She snapped, trying to shake off the weird aura he was exuding.

"Hi to you too," he said. His voice sounded weird. His smile got even more stupid, if that was even possible. Then suddenly his face went all blank and serious.

Verity shuddered. "I _said, _what do you want?!"

"Just to talk," he leaned against the locker in a casual way that would have made her look cool, but just made him look like even more of a loser than he already was. "About stuff, you know, like maybe the weather, homework, _the disappearing students_. . . "

"What do you mean?" Verity attempted a cool yet civil tone. She failed as her cheek muscle twitched a little, betraying her. _Dammit!_ She opted for a scowl.

"I know you're involved. . ."

_No, no!_

"And I know about Serena."

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-Tom-

Someone was saying his name.

"Tom. Tom? TOM!?" The voice sounded annoyed.

Tom turned towards the voice. It was Zack. "Hi Zack," he smiled.

Zack looked worried. "Tom, school's finished. It's time to go home. Also, you need to cut it out, your Gift's raining on my head." Tom looked up. Floating above Zack's head was a small grey cloud that spilled water which vanished just before it touched his head. "Tom, c'mon!" Zack pulled at his arm.

Tom frowned. He couldn't remember creating that cloud. His eyes became unfocused as he thought. Zack was dragging him out of the class but all Tom could think was that there were a lot of things he couldn't remember lately.

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-Verity-

_NO! How could he know?! HOW?!_ Verity had no idea what was happening. "I have absolutely_ no idea _what you're talking about." She said coldly, but heard desperation leaking out the edges of her words.

"Oh, I think you understand very well what I said," Tristan smiled pleasantly. "I know all about Serena Siren. Your older sister, yes? You two hated each other for as long as you could remember, always rivals, always at each other's throats. She was _always _better, _always _right, _always _loved more, wasn't she, Verity? You despised her, your parent's Golden Girl. You wanted to be the best, you wanted control. She lied a lot. Your parents believed _her _over _you. _You wanted to be believed, you wanted truth. That's how you got your Gift, wasn't it? Because of her. The one you hated the most gave you the thing you value the most.

"That's why you both fear and love your Gift. Or is it?" He asked, as Verity's eyes betrayed the truth.

She knew what he was going to say, and she didn't want to hear it, didn't want to relive it. "Stop-" she began but he didn't seem to hear.

"What did you do, Verity?" he asked quietly. "What did you do with your Gift? Did you hate them so much, the ones who had hurt you? Did you tell them to go and never come back? Did you force your parents to leave, and then wonder why they never returned? Did you sit there waiting for them to come back? Did you cry when you finally realised they never would? Did you fear what you had done, hate and revile yourself and your Gift, when all your emotions finally came to the surface? Or did you put on a cold mask and say you didn't care? You just tried to get on with your life, trying to hide the pain of what you had done." His eyes filled with compassion and sympathy. "I know how it feels. The pain of something you thought was right, was justified. The way it comes back even years afterwards. The memory that never fades."

"NO!" Verity screamed. "NO! Just GO AWAY! I don't _**want**_ your pity, JUST GET AWAY FROM ME!" she shuddered in horror as she was overcome with the memory of the worst time of her life.

He was right about everything, _everything, _but **how** could he know? About Serena, her gift, her _parents?_

"How . . .?" she whispered, not registering the fact that he hadn't left even after she ordered him to.

"How did I know?" He smiled sadly. "Do you remember after Alice was released from hospital and she joined the gifted class? She sat next to me, remember. For the first couple of weeks she just ignored me. She was still trying to be the Old Alice. Then she found out some things. And once she knew, she could never go back to the way she was. She just wanted to regain her mind, rebuild her life. '_But how?' _she wondered. The doctors said there was nothing that could help her. Then she realised the answer had been sitting beside her for weeks. Me. I was a Healer, surely I could cure her. This is what she thought. So she started to be nice to me. At first it was just an act, but after a while I think she genuinely wanted to be friends."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Verity snapped irritably, trying to regain control of the conversation.

"Well, you see, friends tell each other stuff. And Alice liked telling me about the memories she picked up. There were some very interesting ones, actually. But the strangest ones, she told me, were the ones she got in the Gifted class. The ones she picked up from you."

_It was Alice! _Verity thought in disbelief. _That wimpy cry-baby read my memories and told Tristan! When I see her again, I swear I'll –_

Tristan cut off her thoughts before they got homicidally inclined. "But she didn't understand everything, you see. She only saw memories of you and your sister. It was lucky she even found out Serena's name. But she didn't connect it to your Gift. It seemed unimportant to her, an awful older sister. But something about it stuck with me. And do you remember what Madame was talking about in class on the day Joy disappeared?"

"Why would I care about that?!"

"It's how I started to figure out you were involved. Madame was telling us to be on the lookout for someone who had been threatening her other students. She cut herself off in the middle to tell Lola to pay attention, but she said to look out for 'a woman named Sere-" How many girls names start with SERE? In fact, she was about to say Serena, wasn't she?"

"_That's _why you think I'm involved?" Verity sneered. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Please, give me a _little _more credit than that," said Tristan. "Besides the fact you were acting weirdly ever since Joy vanished, Alice told me that when Madame was talking you were thinking about your sister. _And _when she asked you how you got your Gift. Coincidence? I think not."

"That doesn't prove ANYTHING!" Verity was starting to panic. Everything was spinning out of control, everything was wrong. _No one was supposed to know! She said no one would find out!_ She took a deep breath. _I need to calm down. It's okay. I know what to do. _

Collecting herself, she turned to the raven-haired Healer. "You will not remember anything we discussed. All memories regarding me in relation with Serena and my parents will be erased from your mind. You will stay silent and do exactly what I say. You will come with me without resistance." Satisfied that she had cleaned up this mess, she turned to leave, when Tristan's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"No."

"_What did you just say?"_

"I said No. Did you really think you had that much power over others, Verity Siren?" He asked pityingly, mockingly.

And with that he sauntered off as though he didn't have a care in the world.

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-Zack-

Tom was acting really strange and as his one-and-only best friend, Zack was very worried about him. There was only one thing to do. He had to talk to Tom's parents.

Zack gulped. It wasn't that Mrs Jones _scared_ him, it was more like . . . intimidation, maybe? No, that didn't sound right, he thought, shaking his head. Well, whatever it was, he did NOT like it.

It was this feeling he got from her. He knew she thought he was a Freak (with a capital F). She thought the Gifted class was a nice name for the _Troubled _Kids class. And since she knew he was in the Gifted class . . . well she thought he was crazy or something probably.

_Or maybe she just knows about your past . . . _a little voice whispered in his head.

No, he thought, there was no way she knew. Only Madame and his Aunty and Uncle knew, and they would never tell anyone about his time on the streets. _Why does that always come back to haunt me? _

They reached the front of the school and Zack pulled a spaced-out Tom down the stairs, reflecting on how much _easier _life would be if he didn't have to keep his gift secret.

A familiar green car waited in the drop-off-pick-up zone. The two Gifted students headed towards it. "Hey Mr Jones, hi Audrey!" Zack said cheerfully, hopping into the car and yanking Tom in too when he just stood there.

Audrey's excited squeals covered Mr Jones's reply. "Zacky! Tommy!" Zack grinned at Dree's tendency to add a Y to the end of everyone's names.

"Let's go then, kids," Mr Jones smiled cheerfully, starting the car.

"Let's go!" Audrey cheered with the enthusiasm only an eight year old can have.

Zack glanced over at Tom grinning, then blanched. _Oh crap, _he thought seeing tiny sparkles drifting off his friend. He elbowed Tom in the ribs.

The sparkles abruptly vanished and Tom blinked. "Oh yeah, let's go home!" he said happily. Zack was relieved to see Tom acting like his usual self again, and he felt the good mood infect him too.

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_Ding Dong! Ding Dong!_ The doorbell rang at the Jones's house. It was five thirty.

In the garden Zack stood up and stretched. "Guess I should go then. My aunt and uncle said to be home before 6."

Tom looked up from the grass where he was sitting with Audrey, who they had been entertaining with their gifts. "Yeah, we should go in now too, Dree," he pulled his sister up.

They went into the house where Mrs Jones was calling for them. "Tom, it's time for Zack to be going!" And you have a visitor!"

"A visitor?" Zack asked.

Tom just shrugged. They went to the front door. Tom's parents were constantly mystified by the fact Zack insisted on walking home every time he came over despite the fact he lived a fair distance away.

At the front door was a blonde woman, talking to Tom's mother.

Zack waited for a break in the conversation and said politely "Thank you for having me over Mrs Jones. I'd better get going now."

He started out the door, and when he rounded the corner he shimmered, then vanished.

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-Tom-

Tom sighed. _She _was here again. His psychologist had recommended hypnotherapy to his mother and now every second evening this lady had been coming to hypnotise him to 'help him get over his delusions'. He knew something as small as hypnotism would never get rid of his gift. But he also knew his gift upset his mother, so he continued the sessions to please her.

After the sessions, though, his head got all dizzy and he kept forgetting stuff.

Tom really didn't like hypnotherapy.

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At seven o'clock Mr and Mrs Jones and their daughter found themselves sitting on the couch watching television with no recollection of the past one and a half hours and the odd feeling that someone was missing.

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**WOW, this chapter is definitely long, double the normal length! As promised this is a Tom chapter so you get his profile!**

Tom Jones-

Messy black hair, hazel eyes, shortish, shy, patient, dreamy, pretty, compassionate, spacey, loyal, kind, has his head in the clouds. Constantly spacey, unconsciously uses his gift, daydreamer, could be smart but is too busy dreaming to pay attention in class. Family- Mum, dad and 8year old sister Audrey. His father is generally accepting of Tom, his little sister adores him and loves to play games with him and his mother believes his gift is a 'delusion' and wishes he was normal.

Likes- Audrey, Zack, His parents, playing games, his gift, daydreaming, strawberries, origami

Dislikes- Studying, upsetting his parents, Hypnotherapy, cucumber

When Tom was little his parents worked a lot and he was often left to his own devices. His favourite time of day was in the evenings when his mum would read him faerie tales and stories of magic and adventure. He would fall asleep at night thinking about those stories and spend all day waiting to hear another one. Eventually the magical beings he dreamed of, wished to be real with all his heart began to appear as shadows. The more faerie tales he heard, the more he wished they were real, and so the shadowy figure slowly solidified until one day five year old Tom's gift became real. He could create his dreams and imaginings as solid figures or illusions; he could bring life to his toys and other inanimate objects just like in his stories.

Tom had always been a quiet, dreamy boy, off in his own little world where he would retreat to hide from the loneliness. When his gift fully developed he spent more and more time this way, distressing and alarming his mother, who was never able to see her son's gift.

Tom's only friend is Zack, who he first met when, on Zack's first day at school, Zack had used a pin to punch holes in Tom's unopened bottle of water so when he opened it water sprayed everywhere. Zack is the first person Tom truly trusted and opened up to. The only other person is his sister Audrey who loves his gift, even if she doesn't understand it. She likes to play with him because she says "Tommy plays the best games". It's because his gift brings to life the make believe games they play.

Tom's illusions and creations never last long, because he usually loses focus and turns his attention elsewhere. One of his favourite pastimes is to make origami animals, especially cranes, and breathing temporary life into them.

**Miki, out!**


End file.
